ISLAMABAD: A three-day meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission will begin in Islamabad on Tuesday, Pakistani state media reported.
In recent years, India has begun ambitious irrigation plans and construction of many upstream dams, saying its use of upstream water is strictly in line with the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), signed between the two countries in 1960.
Pakistan has opposed some of these projects saying they violate the World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus waters, upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends.
A nine-member Indian delegation had arrived in Pakistan to attend the 117th meeting of the commission on Tuesday, the Radio Pakistan reported.
“During the meeting, Pakistan’s observations on various Indian new run-of-the-river hydro-electric plants will be discussed,” the report read. “The matter relating to sharing of flood information by the Indian side would also be reviewed.”
Pakistan’s Commissioner for Indus Waters Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah would be leading his side at the talks.
The discussions are likely to be focused on Pakistan’s objections to Indian hydroelectric projects namely Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Lower Kalnai (48 MW) and Kiru (624 MW) in Chenab basin in Jammu and Kashmir and few small hydroelectric projects in Ladakh, The Hindustan Times reported.
Under the IWT, India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on the western rivers subject to specific criteria for design and operation.
The pact also gives the right to Pakistan to raise objections to designs of Indian hydroelectric projects on the western rivers. Pakistan has raised objections on the design of these projects.
Shortly after the partition of the sub-continent into Pakistan and India in August 1947, tensions soared over water rights of the rivers flowing between them.
Since the ratification of the treaty after nine years of negotiations, both neighbors have not engaged in any water wars, despite waging full-scale wars over the Muslim majority Kashmir valley, which both claim in full and rule in part.
Three-day Indus commission meeting begins in Islamabad today
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Three-day Indus commission meeting begins in Islamabad today
- A nine-member Indian delegation has arrived in Pakistan to attend the meeting
- Syed Muhammad Mehar Ali Shah will be leading the Pakistani side at the talks
At least six killed in roof collapse in Pakistan’s northwest
- Five others trapped under the rubble were rescued and shifted to hospital, rescue official says
- Roof collapses are a recurring hazard in Pakistan often due to poor construction, aging buildings
ISLAMABAD: At least six people, including women and children, were killed and five others injured after dilapidated roof of a house collapsed in Pakistan’s northwestern Charsadda district, a rescue official said on Sunday.
The roof collapse occurred in Shabqadar tehsil of Charsadda, trapping several people, who had come to attend a wedding, under the rubble, according to local media reports.
A Rescue 1122 spokesman said their teams immediately rushed to the site, rescued five people and retrieved bodies of the deceased.
“Rescue 1122 personnel removed the debris with utmost caution and evacuated the affected people, who were transferred to a nearby hospital,” the spokesman said.
Roof collapses are a recurring hazard across Pakistan. Many such incidents are linked to poor construction practices, aging buildings, and a lack of adherence to building codes.
Informal housing settlements and older urban neighborhoods are especially vulnerable as decades-old roofs often fail to withstand prolonged downpours or snowfall.
In a statement, Shafi Jan, adviser to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister on information, expressed grief over the loss of human lives in the incident.
“The provincial government extends its sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased,” he said.
